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Nastya Nudnik is a Kiev-based artist who, in her ’emoji nation’ series, blends classical art with the all too ubiquitous notifications of modern social media and digital culture. Far from a snide exercise in post-modern irony, the resulting images are a striking comment on themes of isolation and our cultures false sense of connectedness .

Like this:

This is so Millennial it hurts. Noah is a short film that plays out entirely on a teenager’s computer screen. Noah’s relationship takes a rapid turn for the worse in this fascinating study of behaviour (and romance) in the digital age. The film was written and directed by Patrick Cederberg and Walter Woodman. And it’s really, really good. Oh and if you’re looking to watch this in the office, it would be remiss of me not to tell you some content is NSFW. But, it’s still a must watch.

In this world of constant connections there has been a lot of debate recently about the detrimental effects of the internet and whether we are creating and encouraging a culture of distraction where we increasingly disconnect from the people and events around us. According to research done by half of the BBH Barn 2012 team—made up of Sarah Chan, Rhys Hillman and Scarlett Montanaro – we look at our phones on average 150 times a day. In an effort to save the art of conversation and to encourage people to re-engage with their friends without the constant presence of a smartphone, the team created a Social Media Rehab Kit. The kit contains Instagram filter glasses, Twitter notecards, Draw Something doodle pads, and ‘Like’ stickers. “Our message is simple: Connect with life outside of your phone. We want to spark real life social interactions and create enough fun and conversation that people don’t feel the need to awkwardly scroll through their Twitter feeds”, BBH Barn 2012 participant Sarah Chan said.

In this new era, technology has enabled us to interact, innovate and share knowledge in whole new ways – creating a dynamic shift in mindset. People are empowered, business is liberated and society is more connected than ever. Ericsson has released a great mini-documentary that explores some of the many implications and directions of a connected world, including health, industry structure, how we socialise, and far more. On The Brink discusses the past, present and future of connectivity with a mix of people including David Rowan, chief editor of Wired UK; Caterina Fake, founder of Flickr; and Eric Wahlforss, the co-founder of Soundcloud. Each of the interviewees discusses the emerging opportunities being enabled by technology as we enter the Networked Society. Concepts such as borderless opportunities and creativity, new open business models, and today’s ‘dumb society’ are brought up and discussed. This is a great initiative and well worth a watch:

Rumour has it that Facebook is set to launch artisitic photo filters, like those currently found on Instagram, that can be quickly applied to uploaded photos on its mobile application. PSFK reports:

Engineers at Facebook have suggested that they will introduce almost a dozen photo filters, including old-style camera lenses and grainy film effects that are found on Instagram.

Facebook hopes to lure the 8 million Instagram users to start using its mobile application for photo uploads. No release date has been confirmed for the photo filters, but Facebook engineers predict it would be ready in the upcoming months.

Intel were looking for a novel way to promote their Core i5 processors, and they have found it with the Intel Museum of Me. The Museum of Me produces a “visual archive of your social life” by compiling all your Facebook information and creating a three-minute long walk-through of your online social life. The website showcases data, pictures, friends and locations and turns it all into a personalised art exhibition. However, there is no telling where your personal data goes after you’ve connected Museum of Me with your Facebook account.

Marketer and social media commentator Callum Saunders has predicted five social marketing trends that will be big in 2011:

So you’ve accumulated 10,000 fans on Facebook. And? While 2010 became the year in which we raced to build up communities for visible brand advocacy, 2011 is the year in which marketers have to start making effective use of these groups.